Going into cold steel 1 honestly my outlook was somewhat bleak considering the reputation it had prior to me playing it, but after completing the game i'm happy to know that the hate for it is so OVERBLOWNNN. And i assume most of the hate for it is either unmerited or from people who got into the series with this game without prior knowledge.

I think this game is pretty solid, taking it's time to explore Erebonia and building it up which is the massive appeal of the series for me. This is a given to any intro trails game so i didn't particularly feel it was 'slow' as i'm used to the formula. Albeit at first it may seem formulaic but it works well and Erebonia is so damn INTERESTING!

I Kind of had some concerns about the cast size being so massive and how they were gonna handle 9 whole characters but i believe CS1 handled it pretty well to build up the foundations for alot of these characters. I'm actually pretty invested into Rean as a character and i think he could be pretty amazing down the line.

Besides the usual shit, Trails games always have amazing soundtracks and this game is no exception. First time hearing 'Oinaru Chikara' is an experience plus the gameplay is as fun as it's always been.

THE ENDINGGGGG UOGHHHHHHHHHH. I'm hyped for the rest of the Cold steel games man

"wait - you haven't played quake?"
~almost everyone who i've gushed about this to game in the past few days

a little about me: i'm partial to industrial grit, my favorite doom games favor grimly edgy atmosphere over 80s thrash worship, i'm a big NIN fan and the downward spiral is one of my top 5 favorite albums. so this should be a no brainer, right?

well - yeah, actually. that's exactly right. throughout my playthrough all i could continually ask myself was, "why the fuck didn't i play this sooner?" and rightfully so. i think the reason quake has eluded me for so long is because its holistic reputation is eclipsed at this point by a diehard multiplayer community that i frankly don't give a shit about. i'm not much of a multiplayer enthusiast for anything - let alone tech-y arena shooters - and honestly i probably would've continued ignoring this absolute fucking masterpiece if not for my pressing curiosity towards trent reznor's involvement

that'd have been a huge mistake; quake is easily the best boomer shooter i've ever played

this is where i could talk about how i adore the weapons and their balancing, the general focus on straightforward maps with powerups everywhere, the difficulty being largely driven by how easy it is to kill yourself in tight spaces - or even the god tier ambient score that has just the right amounts of otherworldly screams and metallic chords strewn about - i COULD go into those things and we could be here for a considerable amount of time - but instead of doing any of that, i'm just going to say that the shambler is one of the greatest enemy designs in any fps. in fact, my feeling towards quake 1 can be summarized roughly with my thoughts on the shambler; he's absolutely perfect. i love this giant, dopey, teethy foreskin man in all his fleshy (not furry - fuck you) glory. and i haven't even begun to MENTION his timbs yet

my mans butters be outright otherworldly

I don't think I've ever played a game that offers a story as intricate as Planescape. The basic question of the game is really interesting and it makes you think about how you would answer this question yourself. The different characters, both NPC and party members, were the big highlight for me. In general, I loved the dark mood and enjoyed every minute of exploring this crazy world. Combat wasn't necessarily much fun, but it can often be avoided through clever dialog. Definitely a game for my all time favorites list and perhaps the best writing I've ever seen.

In the span of a week or so, I went from an apathetic “I should try that out sometime” stance on Star Ocean into a giddy little man grinning ear to ear with love because I took that plunge after all this time and was rewarded handsomely. Star Ocean Second Story is such a wonderful video game and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s been a while since I have played a game with a story that feels so vividly “golden age of JRPG”. The main plot kicks off and is so endearing and exciting, in large part due to the outstanding and incredibly lovable dual protagonists. I love the story setup, and even just in my first play session was fully on board with everything being presented, but that momentum just continues for the entire game. It paints an incredibly vibrant and detailed picture of the world of Star Ocean, yet is simultaneously paced brilliantly and always serves to grow the characters just as much. Midway through the game has a twist that brings it all together and really cemented this as an all time great for me. Such a great time.

The beginning couple hours were a bit confusing due to the wealth of mechanics tossed to you to play with, combined by battles so easy I was finishing them within seconds- not allowing me the breathing room to comprehend the aforementioned mechanics. However, once the game kicked into full gear and my learning increased alongside it- I had a blast. Combat leans a little bit into the “mashy flashy” side of things, but the depth in its systems and leveling don’t make it feel mindless. You are given an absurd amount of agency into growing your characters with different skills and abilities, and finding a way to use the many tools given to you effectively is where the game really shines. I love the battles- they’re fast, exciting, and still give lots of tactical decision making- but even more so was doing things like leveling up Rena to be an author so other characters could bypass using skill points on other skills, making characters good at pickpocketing and stealing amazing gear early, or giving everyone the option to nerf stats in exchange for experience boosts. Combine that with the character recruition (which allowed me two entirely different parties by the endgames for my two playthroughs) and I just think it's pretty damn cool that everyone can adopt their own ways to play and still be validated, challenged, and rewarded for it. I found it to be just as addictive as it was mechanically dense, and I did go out of my way to fight every superboss and reach max level.

Structurally the game is a little more linear than the rest of the mechanics might make you think, always having a destination you need to go to for progression, but it still gives plenty of agency in a way that feels liberating. I found myself wandering around the world map constantly, and finding extra hard enemies that rewarded me with extra experience and skill points was really cool- along with chests, new towns, new characters, and party dialogue. The world feels very lived in and has tons of lore and history going into its details, and the lovely characters you can recruit go a long way into making it feel as such, which is just a lot of fun. The towns often have interesting NPCs to talk to, architecture, and generally feel distinct and dense. Being a part of this universe is simply captivating, and it is tied together by the excellent soundtrack and wonderful visuals of this remaster and in the pre-rendered backgrounds of the original too.

There are a couple little nitpicks I could scrape together if I wanted to, but I see no reason to given how much I enjoyed this game. I have the platinum trophy on my Playstation- obtained simply because I was having fun and not due to a previous intention. The story is great, the world is exciting, it's incredibly fun, it's presented beautifully, and I want to go on adventures with Claude and Rena in real life. I love this game and will continue to love it for a long, long time. Great stuff here and an easy recommendation to anyone who loves PS1 era JRPGs as I do.